“I’d rest easier if I knew what you wanted to talk to me about.”
He hesitated and she reached for his hand again. She’d given him a chance to run and he hadn’t taken it. He couldn’t expect to stand there all night without her trying to touch him. Gently, he turned his hand so their palms were pressed together. His long fingers curved around hers, warm and solid and reassuring.
“I want to try.” He drew in a deep breath. “Us. I want to try to make it work. When this has all settled down, I’d like to take you out. For dinner or a movie, whatever you want to do. I spoke with Christian and he’s okay with that.”
That conversation had to have been hard for him. Tears pricked her eyes, but she managed to keep her voice steady. Mostly. “I’d like that, Fen. I’d like it a lot.”
He cleared his throat. “I worry that we’ve moved too fast. With the wedding and the crossing...I don’t want you to make a quick decision you’ll regret later.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Since Aiden plans to keep you on as clan witch, there’s no rush. We can take things slow.” His hand flexed and released her. “You make sure I’m who you want.”
“I know what I want.” She hesitated and then plunged ahead. “What do you want, Fen?”
His gaze angled up to meet hers, but it was a long time before he spoke. The words spilled softly into the dark room. “You. It frightens me how much I want you. I’d give up the pack, the clan, my oldest friends. I would lose myself to have you and that terrifies me.”
“Fen—”
“The right thing—the best thing—would be for me to let you go. But what I
Raquel swiped at the tears on her face. Fen made a soft sound. The mattress shifted beneath his weight and then his arms were there, surrounding her, drawing her into the shelter of his body. Slowly—because she didn’t want to chase him away—she reached out to touch him.
When he didn’t pull back, she traced the seam of his jeans with her fingertips all the way to his hip. She skated her fingertips over his abdomen and his muscles contracted beneath her touch. She smiled against his neck. So many muscles. She wanted to trace that path with her tongue. That might be pushing too hard. He wanted to woo her. A warm rush of feeling accompanied the thought and she turned her head, breathing him in.
She laid her palm upon his chest. His heartbeat was fast and strong, thundering away as fast as hers. She lifted her face to find him staring at her intently. His eyes nearly glowing in the faint light. His beautiful expressive mouth turned up at the corners as he took her hand and guided it back to the bed.
“But before any of that happens, you need to finish healing. You need to rest.”
“I want you to stay.”
A flash of white teeth in the darkness. “Sometimes I think you’re purposefully trying to drive me crazy.”
“I won’t change my mind.” He didn’t argue, but she could tell by his expression that he wanted to. “I know you think I rush into things, but I’m right
He bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead. A light sweep of his lips that tingled all the way to her toes. “Give me some time to get used to the idea then.” His lips curved against her skin. “Let me woo you.”
“I’ll let you woo me all night long.”
He swallowed a laugh. “This is Aiden’s home and you were injured. Don’t worry, I’ll be here in the morning. I’ll always be here when you need me, however this turns out.”
When he reached the door, she called his name and he turned around.
“I love you, Fen.”
She could see his smile even in the dim light. “Go to sleep, Rocky.”
Kamis walked into the living room on his own feet, leaning heavily on a cane. Christian had driven her home. At least until she figured out where she was going to live permanently, this was her home. She made a mental note to ask Christian if she’d be able to rent the place from him.
Kamis would have to stay here too because...well, he was her responsibility now. And maybe Fen had gotten his wish—next time she rescued someone from demons she was going to think long and hard about it first.
Fen... When she’d come downstairs the morning after the crossing, there’d been too many people crowded into the small house for her to speak with him privately. Aiden—hoping out of sight meant out of mind where the clan was concerned—had wanted Kamis out of his home as soon as possible. She was anxious to see Fen again, growing increasingly impatient because first she had to deal with
“Mistress.” There was no trace of mockery in his expression, but she could feel something through their bond that suggested laughter. “May I sit?”
“Of course,” she said. “And I’m not your mistress. Can’t you speak?”
A pained sigh escaped him as he settled into the chair. “I’m physically capable of forming the words, but it will take me some time to learn your language. Will it be a problem?”
“Only if you try to mindspeak a human.”
He shook his head. “They wouldn’t hear me.”
“Kathy will be here later with someone to check out the link. She thinks she’ll be able to modify it so it’s not so...”
“Transparent? I can speak to you through the link, not spy on you. If you had more control over the information you pass to me, it would take care of the problem without risk to either of us.”
“Are you saying I...broadcast my thoughts?”
He lifted his brows. “You send them, yes. It is...distracting but no different from any two of my kind forced to live in close quarters.”
“Maybe no different for you. We don’t read each other’s minds here.”
Another hint of laughter. “No. The ?sir were always a crude and secretive people.”
She bristled. At least the ?sir weren’t destroyers of worlds.
A bleak, empty despair filled the space between them. “No, they were not.”
She fought the urge to apologize. “Do you hear
“As I said, only what you cast at me, child. You’re already beginning to block yourself instinctively. Within another day or two, I’ll hear only what you send to me directly. Until then I can block you and if need be, I can be discreet.”
She considered how far she could trust him.
He frowned at his hand clasped around the head of the cane. It occurred to her that he could easily wield it as a weapon. “I meant it when I said I intended you no harm.” His gaze met hers. “I owe you my life.”
She didn’t want that, to hold him under that obligation. But she’d use whatever means necessary to keep him from hurting the people here. She stood when she heard a car door slam outside. Kathy and her friend had arrived. “Pay me back by staying out of my head.”
Kathy hugged her tightly the moment she opened the door. Peter was a tall, gaunt man with thinning blond hair and a shy smile. Blue eyes narrowed at her and he took her in while Kathy fussed. Behind them, a chill wind blew the snow around so wildly Raquel couldn’t tell if it was actually snowing or just drifting.
“Come on in. We’re in the living room. Straight ahead past the kitchen.” While she hung coats, Kathy led the way past the stairs and down the hallway.
Raquel took a deep breath, cast one glance at the door before following. Peter was a healer not a witch, but there was a fine line between the two. The ?sir with an affinity for healing tended to be more discerning as a whole, were overall less powerful but had finer control over their abilities. It was the discernment—that sight, the
